I empathize with the abject objects I drag into my studio-Formica tabletops, electrical cords, carpet remnants, old chairs, strawberry baskets, bits of trees-and see in them the dramas of daily life. I think of the things I make as inverse prototypes, meant to resist objectification and invoke relationships. Though my pieces begin with found objects, many take shape through labor-intensive transformations. My hand-wrought patterns celebrate and mock human ordering, under­mining the original function of the object. I hope to articulate a more holistic view of the material world-one that is shaping us as we shape it. To view Scott Oliver's Portfolio, click here.